When all Lies are forgotten
by sabina.chaudri
Summary: After treating Juvia's injuries, Porlyusica warned the team that Juvia may start acting differently. With a new attitude in place Juvia makes a decision that leaves Gray breathless as he discovers new sides of the person he thought he knew so well. As the story unfolds, Lucy comes to realize where her own relationship with Juvia might be standing. (No Nalu)
1. Chapter 1

The three mages were sitting in the hall, anxiously waiting for their faithful medicinal advisor to work her magic and come out as soon as she could, hopefully with some good news.

"This is taking way too long."

Gray was the first one to speak. He was the only one standing in the room. He was leaning against the wall by the window, arms crossed over his chest, tapping his foot against the floor.

"Porlyusica should be out any minute now", - said Lucy, while holding Happy on her lap. As soon as she spoke those words, from the other side of the table Natsu stood up:

"She's coming."

Everyone got up and faced the door. There was no need to question Natsu's words, as the dragon slayer would always be the first one to know if someone was approaching. Sure enough, the wooden door opened, painfully slow for Gray's liking, and the Healer stepped out, her eyebrows deeply drawn together, and a discontenting frown shadowing over her lips.

"Oh, relax, all three of you. She is fine."

With that the thick atmosphere in the room finally broke, as the mages sighed in relief.

"Annoying brats. Always worrying for no good reason, distracting me from my work", - Porlyusica was closing the heavy door, which made the dangling metal parts clutter against each other.

That made the woman cringe. Though her patient was in no life-threatening condition, she still needed her rest, as what Porlyusica was obliged to do, in order to restore the young blunettes health, would require her to be in the best of states. If she were to truly fully recover.

Happy broke free from Lucy's tight embrace (apparently, Lucy could be a bit careless with her strength, when she was distracted) and flew over to Natsu.

Everyone was waiting for the woman to elaborate on what exactly had happened behind that hellish door.

Porlyusica pulled up a chair and sat down, her frown now fading, but nevertheless, concern still visible on her face.

"I gave her a cleansing sedative before the procedure".

The words cut deep through Gray's chest. He was suddenly very aware of the fact that though nothing terrible had happened, (as Porlyusica put it, when they gave her a detailed explanation of the battle), Juvia was still hurt, and not in a way that simple aid from Wendy could cure, as every time the small brave girl tried to help, she'd end up hurting herself. Natsu, on the other hand relaxed completely. The amount of drugs he had consumed in his days of reckless fighting (which, as you can imagine, continue to this very day) did not even compare to a mere cleansing sedative. Natsu would later explain to Lucy that a cleansing sedative allowed the patient's magic to be recognized and distinguished from any form of outside magic. They were particularly irreplaceable when it came to curing poisons.

"She was exhausted, so I had to, for her own safety", - the medic added.

As if being pulled by an invisible string, all three simultaneously nodded and turned their eyes back to the Healer.

When Gray carried an unconscious Juvia into the older woman's house, her body was still convulsing in aftershocks, stinging Gray as well. Needless to say, the moronic prick that dared shoot the water mage with a lightning arrow was now lying senseless in a pool of biting ice.

The specifics of his magic allowed him to prevail in long-distance shooting, and as fate had had it – Juvia was his first target. A successful one, at that. Being the incredible mages they were, of course, spotting a head on attack like that was a task of fairly low difficulty, so with cat-like reflexes, Juvia turned her body into water, allowing the arrow to fly right through her. The arrow pierced her body like there was nothing standing in its way, and flashes of dark yellow filled her entire form. Without further ado, Juvia fell to the ground.

After several attempts at aiding the bluenette, Carla finally stepped in and demanded Wendy stopped trying, because the exceed couldn't bear to watch her little sky dragon slayer keep getting electrocuted. The dangerous conditions have quickly subsided though, and as soon as Gray was able to pick Juvia up, the team was on their way to the East Forest, minus Erza, Wendy and Carla, who headed to the guild to inform the Master of what had happened.

"Like I said, she is fine. She will wake up soon and be as good as new. I have extracted the foreign magic particles; there is now no trace of lightning of any sort in any part of her system. My magic never fails, so don't you, pestering brats, dare insult me with those disgusting puppy eyes."

Porlyusica was getting more comfortable in her seat, and seeing the older woman act so "relaxed" reassured Juvia's friends that she was indeed no longer in any danger.

"However", - she added, - "There are side affects to the solution I used. I cannot say for certain whether they will be permanent or not. It varies. The mixture I gave her was a strong doze for a woman her size and weight, but that was the only way I could ensure that the lightning current would not end up-," – Porlyusica figured that "burning her insides" was not a very ethical way of putting it, so instead she said, - "further aggravating her condition".

Lucy was not convinced that Juvia was in as good of a state as Porlyusica had ensured them, so, ignoring courtesy, she interrupted the older woman.

"Side effects? What kind of side effects?"

The woman was not amused by the blonde's worry, but answered her anyway, with a slight growl in the back of her throat.

"At worst, they should only last a couple of hours. "

"What if they don't?", - Gray immediately asked and earned a death-glare from the Healer.

"Do not interrupt me, Boy."

Gray was getting more impatient. He didn't give two flicks about how annoying his presence was to this woman, especially since she wasn't getting on his nerves any less. He just wanted to see his friend healthy and back on her feet, so he could take her back home.

_"__They__ could take her back home_"-, Gray corrected his thought.

"As I was saying", - the older woman shifted in her seat, - "They should only last a couple of hours, but if they aren't gone by the end of the day, consider the change to be permanent."

"What kind of changes?", - asked Lucy.

"Like a fish tail?", asked Happy, cheerfully while resting on Natsu's head, -"Oi, Natsu? What if Juvia becomes a mermaid? Can we keep her?!"

"A mermaid, huh. Sounds like something strong!"

"SHUT UP! Stinking humans, get out both of you!"

"I'm a cat", - Happy tried to retort, keeping his voice quiet.

"OUT!"

After literally swooping away both Natsu and his blue friend behind the front door with her broom, Porlyusica returned to her seat, now fully intended to get on and end this conversation as quickly as possible.

"Now, as I was saying", - she continued nonchalantly, which to Gray only screamed "bipolar".

_"Just what exactly did Gramps see in her?"_

"By changes I meant her personality. She might start reacting differently to certain matters; she may also say stuff she wouldn't normally say; in rare cases people also develop new habits, or drop their old ones."

"That doesn't really sound good", - Lucy noted, now beginning to feel even more concerned. "Will she remember who she is?"

That was a good question, Gray thought. The last thing he wanted to do was to have Juvia go through therapy to serve her amnesia. In Gray's opinion, she went through enough. He just wanted to get out of this place already. He was tired and hungry, and he really needed a shower. But most importantly, he wanted Juvia resting safely in her own bed back at Fairy Hills. Gray was thankful to the older woman and he was respectful, but he didn't like her one bit. The way she was talking about Juvia as if she was some common patient was beginning to seriously bother, and even anger him. And the fact that this woman was talking about Juvia basically giving a 180 and turning into a completely different person, as if she was talking about the weather changing, did very little to help him manage that anger. He was getting confused as her tone and voice didn't match the severity of the potential outcome.

"Yes, of course, the potion has no effect on memories whatsoever. It does mess with ones emotions though, and reactions. So whatever shall happen, given it will, you will simply have to endure it. If things start getting out of control, just lock her in a room and wait till tomorrow."

Yeah, Gray definitely didn't like this woman.

"That's inhuman…" – Lucy shrank in her seat, - "What happens if she doesn't change back in… was it 2-3 hours?"

"I already said, it varies, but if she's not back to her usual self by-", - Porlyusica look at the big wooden clock behind her, - "6 p.m., consider the change to be permanent."

Gray was about to take a step forward, his hands already in fists and a threatening scowl appearing on his face, when he heard stirring coming from behind the giant wooden door.

It sounded like someone was waking up, and blood poured over Gray's heart when he heard the sound of her voice.

**_ ._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._****._._._**

**AN**: After writing single one-shots, I am here to welcome you to my first multi-chaptered story! ^_^

Thank you everyone who has read and reviewed my first two entries on this website! I have to say that though "When Pieces become Parts" IS and WILL STAY a one-shot, **I will be making a sequel. **You, wonderful readers, have given me just the right encouragement with your amazing reviews to make me believe that I can actually do it...\(T_T)/ Thank You so much! \(T_T)/

I hope you will enjoy this story not any less than the previous ones ^_^


	2. Chapter 2

She was indeed fine.

Juvia felt a bit light-headed when she got out of bed. Her back was aching and her neck felt sore, in some places her skin was just a bit too tender, but all of that aside, she was completely fine.

As intended, not wasting a single moment, Lucy, Gray and Juvia were on their way back to the guild as soon as they stepped over the threshold. Lucy asked Juvia a few times on their way if she was feeling weak and whether she wanted to maybe sit down for a while before continuing their journey. Lucy kept asking in hopes of hearing a yes mainly out of concern for her friend, but also because she herself desperately needed that rest. She was tired from being nervous and the stress really wore her off, but she didn't feel comfortable asking to stop in the middle of the forest for her own sake, given that neither of her friends was complaining and they went through an equal, if not worse kind of worry.

Half-way through their route Gray's stomach started making sounds.

"Ah, perfect.."

"You hungry, Gray?" – Lucy asked, half-chuckling.

"Yeah, I'm starving actually."

"Well, serves you right. You and Natsu ate everything before we even arrived at the station! Ugh, and the worst part was that damn cat... Just who the hell does he think he is, saying that I could "_stand to loose a few kilos!_"," – said Lucy, now waving her angry fist at the imaginary cat, who was supposedly flying somewhere above her.

"Would you relax already, you're not fat. Stop being annoying,"-said Gray, while rolling his eyes and turning his head.

The movement made him notice Juvia, who was now about eight steps behind him and Lucy. Gray stopped.

"Oi, Juvia? Everything okay?"

"Hm? Oh, Juvia! Are you tired? Do you want to stop for a bit?", - added Lucy.

Juvia didn't respond. In fact, it didn't look like she was listening at all. Juvia seemed… thoughtful. She was looking at the ground, her fingers held in a lock in front of her. She was shivering a bit, but it was very warm outside.

_"That's weird…. must be the aftershocks"__,_ - thought Gray.

He called for her again and she kept silent. She wasn't looking where she was going, so when Gray put his hands on her shoulders to call for attention, she flinched and pulled back, a bit startled.

"Hey, is everything alright? You look worried."

"Oh, Gray-sama… Ah, no... I mean yes, I'm fine! Everything is fine."

_I?..._

"Juvia, you don't have to push yourself, we finished for today, anyway. Let's go sit over there! By the tree,"- said Lucy. She pointed to some old oak tree that was big enough for the three of them to hide in its shade.

"Ah, no, Juvia would prefer to go back to the guild. She is quite hungry._"_

Lucy and Gray nodded and turned to continue their walk.

The rest of it was very quiet and silent on Juvia's part. Lucy explained to Juvia the side effects of the sedative and told her that if she starts feeling somewhat unusual she should tell them and …Well, Lucy didn't exactly know what they would do then. Gray stepped in and just assured her that it's all going to be fine and that they're here for her. Juvia hummed once, nodded twice and ended her reply on that.

Though Juvia's sudden un-talkativeness seemed a bit odd to Gray, he decided that he'd rather dismiss the matter for now and blame in on her fatigue rather than start getting paranoid that the woman, who was currently about five steps behind him, has started to undergo whatever woo-do changes Porylusica had cursed her with. Lucy noticed it too, but she was more concerned as to her, it looked like Juvia was about to cry. Which was ridiculous, since her eyes were dry and she wasn't actually shaking. Lucy was really tired; she'd really love a break right about now…

They walked slowly, and to kill some time, Gray and Lucy chatted about a few non-important matters. When Gray asked when's Lucy's next rent and made a remark that she should pick a request for them to go on, and Juvia still didn't utter a word, - Lucy began to worry.

Alright, to anyone, who knew them, of course by "them" Gray meant the whole team, but to someone who was very much on alert and very romantic at heart by nature, it could've potentially sounded like Gray asked Lucy to go _alone_ with him.

Juvia was now about ten steps behind them.

"Gray, I think something's wrong with Juvia. Noticed, how quiet she is?",- whispered Lucy to him, getting much too close for comfort.

"Yeah, but so what? She's probably tired. Hell, you're tired from just walking, imagine what being electrocuted feels like?"

"I guess you're right…", - said Lucy while lowering her head.

"Don't worry about it. She's strong. A few drops of Dr. Bitchy-nutt-head's-"

"Gray!"

"Oh, like you weren't thinking it."

Lucy started nagging Gray about how every decent person should know what manners are, while Juvia was silently observing the scene. She was very deep in thought, and didn't hear what they were talking about. But what she did see was Lucy reaching for Gray's ear, whispering something, and Gray leaning in.

#

After arriving at the guild, Lucy kept watching over Juvia. She couldn't really place it, but she had a very bad feeling that whatever was happening in that girl's head wasn't doing much good to her. Fair enough, she will admit it: Porlyusica freaked her out. If the last years (well, years, counting the 7-year recess they took from life) at the guild had taught her anything, it's that something always happened to Fairy Tail, and that usually, if something CAN go wrong, it WILL go wrong. So Lucy just wanted to make sure she would catch on to Juvia's symptom's before anyone else and….well…. maybe…. for once…she could deal with this matter on her own? By herself? Without anyone's help?... Lucy wasn't sure what exactly was she trying to do with Juvia, but she felt calmer keeping an eye on her.

Juvia was acting way more secluded than before. Natsu was already at the guild, so as soon they came back, he immediately threw a punch at Gray for getting him kicked out, whereas Gray delightedly upper-cut him in the jaw, saying that it was his own damn fault. Instead of cheering for Gray like she used to, Juvia went to sit by the counter and just stared at the empty glass in front of her, with her back to the hall. When Mira approached, Juvia dismissed her. Same with Lisanna. And Levy. When Happy flew by to ask about her new "mermaid tail", she ignored him completely.

When the water mage finally felt that unwanted eyes were watching her she turned around and shot Lucy a very hostile kind of expression. Not the usual more playful rivalry, kind off funny actually, look. A serious look. But she didn't look mean. She looked sad. Juvia's movements were also slower: she raised her hand lifelessly to pick up the glass, fill it with water and then wash it down with tiny sips. It looked like someone was pulling her by the strings. Juvia looked like a puppet, like her body didn't belong to her anymore.

Around two hours later, Juvia was still very deep in thought. She didn't speak to Gray, didn't even try to approach him once. He was now talking to Erza about something and it looked like she was scolding him for loosing his shirt. Again. Gajeel was out of the guild, so Lucy decided it was time to take matters into her own hands. Juvia has never looked that depressed. Her eyebrows kept twitching and once in a while she would squint and rub her nose bridge. Something was definitely going on with her.

"Juvia?"

Lucy was now standing behind her wearing a slight smile on her face.

"What?" – she answered dryly in a low voice.

"Um.. are you.. well, you're… you're not yourself."

Lucy was thrown aback by Juvia's sudden cold demeanor. They weren't the best of friends, and Juvia didn't exactly greet Lucy with open arms on a regular basis, but surely a guild mate would understand why someone was concerned with her health. They were one family, after all.

"I feel fine", - she brushed her off.

"No, but you see, Porlyusica gave you a potion-"

"That has supposedly changed me. Lucy, we've been over this. I feel fine."

Juvia was getting annoyed; she clearly didn't want to be disturbed right now. Lucy noticed Juvia's knuckles tightening, but she wasn't giving up just yet.

"You… you're not talking in third person anymore,"- Lucy noted.

"Hm? ...Ah…. Yes, I guess… I don't know; I was an idiot. Should've stopped a long time ago."

Gray spotted the two talking, and he could tell that Juvia was sitting on needles. Out of curiosity he came up to them just in time to hear Lucy reply:

"Juvia, you're not an idiot-"

"Look, I'm tired, and I can feel you want to ask something so do us both a favor and just ask already."

Gray froze on the spot. That didn't sound like Juvia. That actually didn't _sound_ like her. Her voice was way lower now, set somewhere deep in the back of her throat, and too quiet. He never heard her use that voice, but he'd imagined this must've been how she sounded during a fight. She sounded threatening.

"Oi, what's with the attitude?"- stepped in Gray.

Potion or no potion, even if girls fought at the guild, he definitely didn't picture Juvia to be the initiator.

"If my way of talking is not to your liking, you can leave."

"Juvia..."- called Lucy.

Something cold ran down Gray's spine.

_"The Hell?..."_

"Alright, I see this isn't going anywhere, so don't mind if _I_ do."

Juvia got up, and just as she was about to take her first step, Gray caught her wrist.

"Let go,"- she asked.

"I am not done talking,"- he hissed.

"No…,"- Juvia's expression softened, and now she was back to looking just sad, rather than sad and ready to murder.

"That's not what I meant…"- she finished.

Gray was now completely lost. Not what she meant?

_Let go_

Before he could say anything she covered his hand with her own:

"Let's just agree…that I won't bother you anymore, and you won't bother me…"

Gray didn't reply.

_"What the hell?... Why all of a sudden- …Where did THAT come from?"_

While Gray was looking at her in disbelief, Juvia pulled her hand out and walked slowly outside through the back door, whispering a defeated "I'm done".

"Juvia!"

Lucy ran after her. This time she was positive. Lucy definitely didn't imagine it. Sure enough, when the blond made the corner she found the water mage leaning against the outside wall, shaking lightly and sobbing. Juvia was crying.

"Juvia, what's wrong?" Lucy tried to put a hand on Juvia's shoulder, but she didn't let her.

"How could I be so blind?.."

"Juvia…"

"I mean it's foolish right?... so ridiculous…"

From the sounds of it Lucy came to the conclusion that she was right all along, and back there in the forest, when she thought Juvia was upset, her senses didn't let her down.

"Juvia, what are you talking about?"

Lucy drew her eyebrows together. It was rare to see Juvia cry like this, and she didn't exactly know how to handle it.

Juvia looked at the blond and after a moment breathed out, half-choking:

"Everything…."

It was getting chillier. The sun was now hiding behind a thick blanket of white clouds and the blowing wind was getting colder.

Lucy decided that the potion was beginning to take its effect. It was about 2 pm now.

"Juvia, maybe you should go back inside. Mira will make your favorite tea. Earl-Grey! Right?"- tried to comfort her Lucy.

Juvia grabbed her head and pulling her hat onto her forehead let out an afflictive cry.

Thankfully or not, the sound made a certain ice mage stop right behind the corner. Gray was leaning against the other side of the wall, near the exit door, trying to hear what the girls were talking about and what the hell was happening to Juvia. He was a bit shocked with the way she just spoke to him, but everything she said just sounded so unlike her: the manner, the tone, the voice, the feeling…the feeling, or rather the assurance, that whenever Juvia said something, - it was bound to be something positive was completely gone. This wasn't her.

"Ughh! I'm such an idiot! I mean what kind of girl does that?! Just throwing herself at a guy like that…. who does that…"

The dark-haired man was listening closely. Her usual behavior sure was a peculiar one. But then again, everyone in Fairy Tail was kind of crazy. For some reason the way Juvia's face would always have a tint of pink whenever he saw her made it seem like everything in this girls life was absolutely perfect. Come to think of it... He has never seen Juvia be embarrassed for her actions. She'd embarrass the crap out of him, sure, but herself? Not even once. Hearing her talk herself down now felt really out of place.

Gray couldn't really recognize the tugging feeling somewhere around his chest. It made him want to do something about Juvia's current state.

_"It's just for a while. She'll be back to normal soon."_

"Juvia, are you talking about Gray? Don't beat yourself over it, I'm sure he's probably used to it buy now-"

"Don't you get it?!"

Both Lucy and Gray were startled by the water mage's sudden outburst.

"The only reason I even came to Fairy Tail..."- Juvia sniffed. She was calming down now and wiped her eyes dry.

"The only reason I chose to join Fairy Tail was because of Him."

_"That's not true,"_ - thought Gray.

He had this conversation with Juvia before. Well, more like he heard her mention it. Though he was indeed the one, who made her interested in the guild, it was the guild itself that convinced her this was the place she wanted to belong to. And of course it did, how could it not? Fairy Tail is the best guild of all. Who wouldn't want to join?

She was definitely not herself.

_"C'mon, say something useful, Lucy."_

Lucy didn't respond, just nodded instead. She didn't actually know when Juvia and Gray had the time to overstep the "enemies" stage after their fight back when Juvia was still a part of Phantom Lord, but she figured that Gray was probably the first one she told about her intention to join.

"I don't regret coming to Fairy Tail,"- Juvia continued.

Something in her tone immediately sounded alarming to Lucy. She had a feeling where this was going.

"… but I have to leave."- Juvia finished.

Lucy didn't hesitate.

" Stop it! You don't know what you're saying! It's all the sedative! It'll wear off and then-"

"Lucy! I know what I'm talking about. I'm sorry, but I really don't think it's the sedative… or the rain… "

"The rain? ..." – Lucy repeated.

_"The rain?"_, - thought Gray. _"What the hell is she going on about?"_ Gray was now beyond confused: "_Didn't Porlyusica say that memories were not affected? Did Juvia forget that the rain was long gone and she was now in full control of her powers? But, she's outside… ARGH! This doesn't make sense!"_

As much as Lucy hated to admit it, but the idea of locking Juvia somewhere in a room before she did something stupid suddenly seemed more appealing.

"Honestly isn't it time we stop blaming random things for our mistakes?", - Juvia asked nobody.

Lucy scanned the water mage's face. Juvia looked paler and more exhausted. She didn't look hopeful like she her usual self. Instead she looked…. well, honestly?

Relieved.

It was like the idea of leaving Fairy Tail lifted a weight from the water mage, she didn't know she was carrying. Lucy's stomach started to twist. This was insane.

"I can't do this anymore", - mumbled Juvia.

Behind the wall Gray was getting very annoyed. He didn't like this new-regretful-self-hating Juvia. Gray wondered if these thoughts were bothering her in the forest as well. She should be dancing on rainbows by now….

_"Why isn't she turning back?!"_

"Cant do what? Juvia, you can't leave! Do you even hear yourself?! Fairy Tail is your home!-"

Juvia cut Lucy off by starring her directly in the eyes. The blond suddenly had a flashback to the day she first saw the infamous Rainwoman. Her face was blank, her lips were drawn into a thin line, and her eyes burned right through hers.

"You ran away from home".

Juvia's words hit the nail on the head. Lucy was instantly left speechless, as Juvia's words grazed an old wound. The Rainwoman continued:

"You ran away from your home. You left your father and all the people that cared for you and loved you."

Lucy felt her blood draining, as she thought about Spetto-san and the rest, back at her old mansion.

"..And that _you_ loved… You left them wondering what happened to you. You ran, and you never looked back," – Juvia continued in that low, threatening voice.

Her words were cutting right into Lucy's heart. The blond was looking at the floor, her fringe covering her watering eyes. When Lucy finally looked at the blunette, she felt fear. The skies had darkened. Though Lucy had troubles in the past picturing how anyone could've been scared of this girl, with the brightest smile she'd ever seen, right now Lucy finally understood why Juvia was seen as a very valuable asset in Phantom Lord, and why she was worthy of being the only female in the Element Four.

"You don't have the right to judge me."

With that Juvia left a completely numb tearing Lucy barely standing on her wobbling legs outside the guild.

"Lu-chan?"

No other than Levy was standing in the doorway, with concern written over her face. It looked like she just came up so Lucy was sure she didn't hear their conversation. Juvia was now nowhere to be seen, and Lucy started repeating their conversation in her mind. As the blonde looked at her petite blue-haird best friend, something dropped inside her. For once Lucy thought that maybe she and Juvia would never really become true friends.

And Gray had nothing to do with it.

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**AN: **I cannot even begin to tell you what the reviews for the first chapter did to me... it made my day- no. It made my Week! In all seriousness, thank you very much for that! They really inspired me to write this chapter and as promised - it turned out longer than the first one! ^_^

Of course, there will be a next chapter, which will be focused on Gray and Juvia. (this one was more Lucy and Juvia, I know..but this was necessary...)

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me, I'm available almost 24/7 and I reply really fast ^_^

To look at what my inner-drawer makes me do, (including the cover image), my DA account would be your first go-to place ^_^ (oh, and my tumblr has the same username): chsabina . deviant art . com


	3. Chapter 3

_"That was uncalled for!"_

Gray was trying his best to keep it together and not be angry at the water mage's behavior. It did take him a moment to remember that Juvia was not herself right now, so whatever she was saying or doing, (and, unfortunately, who ever she hurt in the process) - she couldn't be held responsible for it.

However, that didn't give her the right to be a bitch.

After making sure that Levy was currently comforting a shaken up Lucy, Gray ran from the back exit towards the main entrance, in hopes of cutting his way with the bluenette. He didn't see where Juvia went, but the backyard of Fairy Tail didn't really have much place to go: there was a pool, a souvenir shop, a couple of tables and sunbeds, but no actual way out of the premises, so wherever she went, she had to circle the building. And that meant Gray could cross paths with her.

He wasn't going to scream at her, or scold her, but he _was_ planning on taking her by the hand, dragging her back inside and making Juvia apologize to Lucy for being so harsh.

When Gray stepped outside she was nowhere to be seen. The wind was now blowing harder and it was much colder. Gray looked around, trying to figure out where she could've went. The normal Juvia would've probably…

…

Gray cussed under his breath when he realized he couldn't finish that thought. Because in truth, the normal Juvia would be with him right now, so there would be no need to look for her. She'd always find him first.

While the Ice mage was processing what his further steps should be, something cold fell on the back of his neck. As he reached for it he felt something moist. Then another drop hit him. Gray looked up and saw dark and heavy clouds forming very fast. They were swimming across the sky towards somewhere northeast, as if something was pulling them and, whatever it was, the clouds were trying to catch up to it.

When the dark haired man understood what was happening, he started running as fast as he could, .

Juvia was strolling through the forest that led to Fairy Hills, when Gray realized where she was.

On the 7th morning of the 7th day after their vacation at the new orphanage, a 5-year old Juvia was very excited to see what Father Winter left her under the tree.

She had asked for a new family.

She'd asked for it for the second time, yet her wishes were still unanswered. For that Juvia was grateful to Father Winter, because he was the first one that taught her the notion, that if you truly wish for something, no one except YOU can make your wish come true. No one would just come and offer you your dreams on a silver platter, no matter how good you've been that year. You had to make your dreams come true with your own two hands. You had to work for your happiness and build it with your own belief and your own efforts.

However, little Ju-chan still believed in miracles. She believed that once in a lifetime, in EVERY lifetime, something wonderful had to happen to a person. Some magnificent higher power would grant a person the opportunity to build his own happiness. So, that New Year's was the last time Ju-chan asked for a family, and ever since then she'd start wishing for a _chance_. Not for a family, but for a chance to have one. The rest, she would do by herself.

Happily stomping her little feet on the wooden stairs, little Ju-chan ran up to open her present and found the most wonderful diary she had ever seen. It was completely blank, but the pages were tinted with a light shade of yellow. On the cover there was a doodle of a family. A bald dad with a red triangle for a body and three lines for hair, a mother with a blue circle for a body and dangling black hair, and a girl, with body shaped like a diamond, swinging on the swing set. She had blue hair and didn't look like either of her parents.

_"She must be an orphan too"_, - Ju-chan thought. The cartoon-girl looked like she was happy.

Juvia knew what a diary was and what you were supposed to write in it, but…

Countless entries that would all read the same? Countless entries about the rain, the bullying, the loneliness, the dreams that never came true and the children that would always come out of nowhere and leave with a new couple while she was still waiting for her chance… That didn't seem fair to Juvia.

So little Ju-chan decided she didn't want that kind of life for this doodle-girl. Instead, she wrote her own version of how her days, or rather this girl's days, should've passed. She started off with:_ "Today, XXX, little Juvia ran downstairs to open her presents that Father Winter left her for being a good girl…"_. She later continued with_ "Today, XXX, Juvia was playing with the other children and they all liked playing with her…"_. And soon enough every entry would start the same, with: _"Today, XXX, Juvia was happy…"_

That diary became her perfect little world and the life she wrote about was much more appealing than the one she led. She always had a powerful imagination, and it was that ability – to overlook the bad and replace it with the good – that made those days in the orphanage spent in complete solitude just a bit more bearable.

Juvia whipped the wet string of hair that fell on her eyes. She kept her head low and she was walking back home, to Fairy Hills, determined to pack her stuff and leave Fairy Tail.

"I can't do this anymore", - she mumbled, - "I'm so sorry, Juvia, but I can't do this anymore."

She wasn't weeping or crying, but her voice was breaking. The rain was getting heavier and the noise resonated through the forest, so the bluenette didn't hear when Gray finally caught up to her.

"Juvia!"

But she wasn't listening.

"I can't… I can't do this anymore," - she kept mumbling.

"Juvia, what the hell happened over there?"

Gray reminded himself that he had to be patient with her, and while running he came up with reasons why just grabbing her, shaking her, or yelling at her would be much worse than just trying to talk to her.

Juvia heard the voice she loved so much and slowly turned around, a sad smile spread across her face.

"It's all a lie," - she declared sadly.

"What? What's a-... Juvia, would you just come back to the guild? You'll catch a cold this way".

"I can't keep living a lie", - she bowed her head even lower.

"Juvia", - Gray clenched and unclenched his left knuckles – "No one is lying to you. Calm down, and let's go back", - he reached his hand out.

Juvia looked at his reached out palm but made no move to take it. There was a shadowing feeling somewhere in her that urged her to intertwine his hand with hers, and hold on to him on their way back to wherever he wanted to go. But right now, it was very easy to suppress that urge, so Juvia turned her head to the side, looking somewhere into the trees and kept standing, the rain still pouring over them.

"I thought it was the rain", - she started, while Gray looked confused, - "I thought once the rain was gone everything would be different, but it's not, is it?"

The ice mage had a feeling she wasn't really asking a question.

"Nothing really changed", - she continued numbingly, - "I didn't change… I'm still the same… still the same weird girl, with more eyes looking at her…."

Gray drew his brows together; his mouth was hanging a bit open. He was listening but he didn't understand. Hearing her refer to herself in first person was still very unusual. He looked at her carefully and he saw a wave pass over her face. She looked lost, confused and frightened. She was shaking lightly and Gray wasn't sure whether he should take a step towards her or leave her be.

Just then Juvia spat out a chocked out laugh and laced her hands slowly around herself. She was holding herself, but it really looked like she was trying to keep some part of her from breaking.

"It was all a lie", - said Juvia, - "and nothing was real. Nothing changed; I'm still the same! Still the same girl that was always different, and that will always be different and it doesn't matter whether it's raining or not!"

Big drops started streaming down her face as her voice grew louder, trying to reach the Ice mage over the white noise of rain and rustling leaves.

"Juvia, you're not making any sense, would you just calm down already! Relax, and let's go back!"

Gray felt an itch on the inside around his left pectoral.

_"What the hell are you talking about, Juvia! You HAVE changed. You ARE different"_, - thought Gray, but didn't really feel confident in his words.

He wasn't sure what kind of person Juvia was before Fairy Tail. He didn't know whether she was actually a cheerful girl, hiding behind a stone-cold mask, or a sad girl, who was trying to stay positive. All he knew is that when he first saw her, she looked like she was miserable.

"I can't go back! I'm sorry but no… I won't go back", - said Juvia.

"All right", - lowered his hand Gray, - "Where do you want to go, then?"

Juvia's eyes grew larger as she realized that the love of her life had suggested to accompany her to wherever place she'd choose to be at. Instead of feeling excited, however, she became more nervous. Her hands were pulling her in one direction, her heart wanted to move in the other, her head threw her images of how best to pack her stuff, while her feet stood still in one place. This was too much, and Juvia was feeling very overwhelmed.

"Every time", - she started, while Gray waited patiently, - "Every time I kept thinking it would get better", - she bit her quivering lip, - "All my life I kept thinking it would get better! It had to! It HAD TO!" – her voice became louder, but the Ice mage didn't try to silence her this time.

_"Maybe if she screams it out she'll go back to the way she was faster...This must be it!"_

Gray felt reassured with the new thought. The side effects must've been coming to their peak, so by the end of this twisted monologue she should be fawning over him again.

"And it did...The rain stopped", - she said.

Juvia thought about the little mantra that was hidden in her old diary that basically read over and over again: Juvia will be okay… Juvia will be fine…Juvia will be happy…

_"Today, XXX, Juvia was happy."_

Juvia looked at Gray, a sad smile still in place.

"It got better. "

Gray was beginning to understand but didn't interrupt as he thought it be best to just let her get it out of her system. Their eyes locked for a moment, and Gray felt a pit punching its way through his lower abdomen. He could feel her slipping away.

"I can't keep lying to myself…."

As Juvia looked at the man who brought her salvation, she began to wonder over her own words.

What if when her prayers were answered, her prayers really were answered? What if Destiny (whichever one that heard her) finally gave her what she always wanted?

A chance.

The rain was gone now, and this was finally her chance. People liked her now and she even had friends – now she could build a life outside the yellow tinted pages… But what if she misplaced her hope? What if Gray wasn't actually the One she was supposed to build a life with? What if Gray wasn't her other half… but… just a messenger? If Father Winter heard her, surely he'd send this kind ice mage to rescue her and free her so she could find her true happiness. A Little piece of winter that always felt like home and that led her to a new one.

So what if it was time to move on?...

What if her destiny was still waiting somewhere out there and she was just wasting this wonderful one-in-a-life-time opportunity on the wrong person.

Gray looked up again to see her still smiling at him, her teary blood-shot eyes locked with his. The usual spark now faded. She'd been thinking about this the whole day.

"I'm not asking for anything", - she spoke gently, - "You don't have to say anything. "

The sudden silence on Gray's end felt piercing. He didn't know what was happening, but Gray finally understood that Juvia was terrified of something. He didn't know what got his precious friend so worried, but whatever it was, it was draining the color from her rosy cheeks, it was making her shed tears he never wanted to see, it was bringing the rain, she fought all her life to get rid of. Whatever made Juvia so scared, Gray realized he probably wouldn't be able to help her fight against it anyway… It seemed to be an internal battle and it was very personal, and Gray like no one else knew the importance of giving a person his space and some time to think. Plus, unlike Juvia, Gray didn't believe in destiny, or the idea that his fait was long predetermined. Instead, he believed in actions.

So, if Juvia felt that leaving Fairy Tail was something she really had to do…

"I had a really nice time with you," – said Juvia while turning around, - "Even if it was just a lie."

The water mage continued her walk back to Fairy Hills, leaving the Ice mage behind.

#

It was now 8:30 pm and the guild was almost empty.

Juvia had packed her bags and was now standing with them by the river that passed near the guild, waiting for Master to come back, so she could announce her decision and thank him for giving her a home.

The dark-haired mage was sitting on the windowsill on the second floor, starring out the window at the bluenette. His arms were crossed over his chest and one foot was hanging loosely. He didn't show the fire dragon slayer that he had already acknowledged his presence when Natsu came up to him, holding his hands crossed behind his head.

"You're just gonna let her walk away?"

Quite the diplomat that Natsu was. Then again, Natsu was never a fan of big fancy words and preferred to keep all his sayings straight to the point.

"It's her decision", - the Ice mage answered, still looking out the window, - "We should respect her choices."

Natsu nodded eagerly, agreeing with his frenemy before adding:

"She's right you know."

Gray raised a brow, certain that Natsu would see the gesture through the reflection in the window.

"You can't keep lying to yourself," – smiled Natsu.

_"Of course…. ",_ - got annoyed Gray with the dragon slayer's superb hearing abilities.

"I don't know what you're talking about,"- said Gray.

"Yeah," – sighed understandingly Natsu, - "I guess you're too stupid to figure it out."

"Shut up, ash-turd."

#

Juvia was fidgeting with her dress, trying to figure out what would be the best way to tell Master about her awful decision, without sounding like she was abandoning them. When she saw Gray approaching from the guild she felt light-headed. Juvia dropped her hat as everything started spinning.

"Juvia?"

Gray ran up to her just in time to catch her before she could hit the ground.

"Oi, Juvia? Can you hear me?"

Gray endured a few confusing moments as he saw the water mage start blinking one eye at a time, while her gaze was scattered all over her surroundings. She was swallowing air while making a few nonchalant humming sounds, and Gray swears this is probably the weirdest, most ridiculous way for a person to come back to his senses.

"Gray-sama?"

When she finally spoke, her voice was strong, confused, but most importantly, Gray noted, - once again it sounded like little bells singing.

"Do you…..remember anything?", - asked Gray with caution, after helping the girl up.

"Ano…The last thing Juvia remembers was talking to Gray-sama at the guild ….and then Lucy-san about…something, - Juvia remembered the faces, but didn't remember the words, - "Ano…right now Juvia was going somewhere", - she put a finger to her chin, - "She was determined to leave to…."

_Where was she going?_

"Um, Gray-sama, Juvia is terribly sorry, but where …what happened?", - she finally gave up.

Gray looked over the girl that brought her knees together and was looking extremely apologetic at him.

_Gray didn't believe in destiny, or the idea that his fait was long predetermined. Instead, he believed in actions. He trusted the idea that if you really want something – you have to make sure you get it._

...So what did he want?

"You asked me if I wanted to go on a mission with you at the guild….", - he started slowly.

"EH?"

Juvia couldn't believe what she was hearing. She would most certainly remember inviting Gray-sama on a mission!

"I said yes, and you fainted."

"Oh…", - dragged into a whisper Juvia.

He wanted her to stay with him.

" You…um… you've been out for a while, and...we... missed the train...so-"

"OH NO! D-d-does that mean that G-g-ray-sama and Juvia aren't-" – she was suddenly standing very close to him, her eyes peering into his.

"Relax," - breathed out Gray, slightly annoyed,- "We can take the first one tomorrow, its not a big deal."

"Oh… Thank Goodness", - smiled Juvia and out her palms over her heart, - "…Um, Gray-sama? What kind of mission was this?... Juvia packed a lot of stuff…"- she asked while taking a look at her bags.

Gray looked at her contemplating something but instead just passed her a quick smirk before walking away.

"Ehhh….Gray-sama? Gray-sama!"

But though he didn't answer and kept on walking, Juvia didn't think too much about the double meaning behind Gray's smile, as there were currently much more important matters to think about:

"Could it be? Together…for a long time?_ Alone?!_ KYAH!"

_"Mavis, that girl,"_ – thought Gray, while the over-excited bluenette was jumping in delight behind him, holding her flaming cheeks.

As he was about to pass the threshold, Natsu smiled at him delightedly:

"And here I thought you were a _quitter._"

"That's funny", - replied the Ice mage, - "Thought I heard you say you _thought_ of something,"- he smiled back.

"WHat the-? You wanna GO?!", - yelled the dragon slayer, as Gray approached the request board.

#

The next morning everyone was aware of Juvia's little black-out but weren't really surprised as Porlyusica did mention that the effects vary; so no one except for Gray, Lucy and Natsu knew about the little incident of yesterday.

Juvia was sitting behind the bar, waiting for Gray to go to the station, a much smaller but still quite the sophisticated bag placed next to her. Now that she was aware of the mission she took the time to re-arrange her packings.

While Juvia was sipping on her tea, Lucy hesitated but finally came up to her.

"Um, Juvia?"

"Hm? Oh, good morning, Lucy-san", - she greeted the blond casually.

"Morning, um, I'm glad you're feeling better", - she smiled as well.

"Thank you, Lucy-san, Juvia really does feel much better today"

Lucy nodded and fidgeted with her fingers a bit.

"Does Lucy-san want to ask Juvia a question?", - the water mage wondered, slightly concerned.

"Actually, yes...um... Juvia?", - the blond swallowed, - "Do you.. hate me?"

Juvia's eyes instantly flew open upon hearing the question.

"No!" - Juvia stated as strongly as she could, without blinking, - "Of course not, why would Lucy-san even think that!"

Juvia didn't know whether Lucy was playing a joke on her or ... Nope, she had no other possible explanation for why she would ask her such a ridiculous question.

"No reason really,"- Lucy smiled and waved a hand in front of her, - "But um, Juvia? If something was wrong... you would tell me, right?"

Juvia hesitated before nodding, still not seeing why Lucy was suddenly asking such a question and where she was going with it.

"Right, never mind! Forget I asked anything, ahah,"- laughed off Lucy before wishing Juvia a pleasant trip.

As she turned to walk away Juvia called:

"Lucy-san?"

Lucy stopped and turned to face Juvia again.

"Juvia doesn't know Lucy-san that well", - she confessed, - "But she knows that Lucy-san is a good person. And..."

Lucy gave her a warm smile. She made a note to self that she liked Fairy Tail Juvia, - no, _their _Juvia - much more than the Rainwoman. _Their_ Juvia, whenever she spoke, just like right now, spoke from her heart, and she always sounded very sincere.

"We all do things other people don't agree with.."

Juvia smiled back at the blond.

"Doesn't mean we're wrong."

**END**

**AN: **...and... cut!

If you're wondering, than this would be about the time Gray'd walk in and he and Juvia would leave for their 2-week long mission accompanying some Duke to this really fancy festival two towns away to the south.

It's really late right now, and I haven't re-read this chapter... I usually read through about 3 times, but my GOD was this chapter long...Ahah, I wanted to break it into two, but the last one would've been very short, so I just went ahead and combined them..

I'm sorry if you felt the chapter was a bit rushed, I did not intend it that way... and though I did mark this piece as "Drama", I hope it wasn't too annoying (T_T) ...

Say, how do you feel about royals? I love the medieval time with all their fancy dresses ^_^ I'm saying this because next multi-chapter Gruvia fic will revolve around that, and it will be called... well the working tittle is "Long Live the Royals!" so hopefully it will spike your interest .. I certainly felt insanely ingenious when I thought of the plot XD

Thank you everyone, who followed me as an author!And thank you SO MUCH for your wonderful reviews! And a special thank you to x-clownsdontbounce-x, BrigitteoO, wiwi,RavenofSilver, Darkhope, bobobear2657, for being there from the very beginning!

As always, do not hesitate to contact me, I'm available almost 24/7 and I reply very fast! ^_^


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